Supporting a world where everyone can flourish in life, access equitable opportunities, and live in a safe and stable home

In the Housing and Homelessness Programme, we focus on preventing homelessness.

We have three priorities:

promoting economic self-sufficiency;

increasing the availability and supply of affordable housing; and

preventing homelessness.

Grants within the programme are wide-ranging in size. We partner with organisations working both nationally and locally in Boston, New York and Philadelphia in the United States and in London, Belfast, South Wales, Glasgow and Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Within each location, we aim to fund projects relevant to the three priorities. In addition, we have adopted specific objectives that recognise particular issues in some of the localities where we make grants. You can read more about our strategy below.

Watch our programme video

Meet Amanda Beswick, our Housing and Homelessness Programme director.

Our latest stories

UK-based charity The Refugee and Migrant Centre (RMC) has been awarded a Glaxo Smith Kline IMPACT Award 2019. RMC assists refugees and migrants in crisis by removing barriers to their integration and enabling them to become equal citizens. The award recognises RMC for its innovative health services, which include providing a weekly health visitor clinic to help those who cannot access support elsewhere.

Shelter estimates that 320,000 people in Britain are now homeless, an increase of 13,000 (4 per cent) between 2017 and 2018 [1]. As charities and social enterprises gear up for this growing challenge, Oak’s Housing and Homelessness Programme is supporting a new pilot programme that aims to heighten the impact and sustainability of the housing and homelessness charities in its portfolio.

“People with mental health problems who rent privately simply aren’t getting enough support and timely access to services to maintain their tenancy and live well in their own homes.” To raise awareness of the issue, the Tyfu Tai Cymru project, part of CIH Cymru, released research examining the support available for private landlords who have tenants with mental health problems in Wales.

Our strategy

In the Housing and Homelessness Programme, we partner with organisations working on a national basis and also those with a local focus within the programme geographies. Grants within the programme are wide-ranging in size. Like other Oak programmes, we target the most vulnerable groups, promote long-term outcomes and adhere to Oak Foundation’s overall principles.

Our priority areas

To increase economic self-sufficiency by:

equipping homeless people and those at risk of homelessness with skills to move towards economic stability, enabling them to overcome barriers to employment and encouraging sustained employment;

increasing the impact of entitlements and defending them against cuts;

maximising income through wage growth and enabling people to secure and maintain their entitlements; and

As a Foundation, we aim to evaluate programme strategies every five years. We will begin a rolling process of programme reviews starting with our work in focus area 2. This will be followed in subsequent years by reviews of focus areas 1 and 3. We will publish the results on our website.

City objectives

Within each location in which the programme funds, we aim to fund projects relevant to the three priorities. In addition, we have adopted specific objectives that recognise particular issues in some of the localities where we make grants

Boston: Reducing family homelessness by supporting shelter and other service providers to help homeless families in a timely, effective and efficient way

Our grant-making currently focuses on:

improving the choices available to and capacity of low income, vulnerable families at risk of homelessness; and

ensuring the system responds to the needs of homeless families, particularly young homeless families requiring intensive support to develop the skills to move away from homelessness permanently.

Northern Ireland: Reducing fuel poverty

Our grant-making currently focuses on:

enhancing the targeting of existing resources to combat fuel poverty;

providing the bridge between different sources of funding; and

supporting the development of lower pricing for low-income households.

New York and London: Supporting services that enable military veterans who are homeless and/or have experience of the criminal justice system to stay housed and crime-free

Our grant-making currently focuses on:

learning about the combined experience of military service, homelessness and offending; creating partnerships that break down sector barriers; and

strengthening neighbourhoods by taking a holistic approach to repairing homes in concentrated areas; and

combining funding to increase impact.

Where we fund

Our geographic focus is currently on: Boston, New York and Philadelphia in the United States; London, Belfast, South Wales, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom. Projects which have national impact in the US and the UK are also funded.

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Our mission

Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. With offices in Europe, India and North America, we make grants to organisations in approximately 40 countries worldwide.